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Does a careless driving charge give a criminal record?

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  1. #21

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    jrkob, that was an outstanding answer! I think it allays a lot of the fears my friend has. Although I still can't say for sure whether the overtaking maneuver was legal or not (whether by the literal text of the road code, or by a subjective interpretation of "driving to the conditions" - in this case a congested road with limited visibility), my friend is just going to offer a guilty plea, considering that a criminal record is not likely.

    Anyway, she's in court for the summons tomorrow, so I'll update you later. Thanks again for the outstanding response from everyone.


  2. #22

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    Original Post Deleted
    This must go down as one of the most informative post on Geo I've had the privilege to read.

  3. #23

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    I have a careless driving conviction, all for crossing a single white line when changing lanes, I tried to change lanes before the single line started, I indicated and crossed over in between two vehicles and suddenly I hear sirens, the Po Po said I was driving dangerously as I crossed the white line, I made the vehicle behind me brake suddenly, yeah right and the fact that we were going around a corner up and down a hill and he was 3-4 vehicles behind, not sure what he could have seen anyways, I attended court as I had no car cam at that time, it was a long time ago and it would have been my word against the coppers who the judge would have believed anyways.

    Pleaded guilty to careless driving. HK$1000 fine and 5 points to my license

    Cut from right lane to the left before the single white line started FFS.
    https://goo.gl/maps/Jrqh7vVCr3r

    http://www.hkclic.org/en/topics/poli...minal-Records/

    Last edited by wtbhotia; 02-02-2016 at 12:46 PM. Reason: adding link

  4. #24

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    So, my friend pleaded guilt after revising some of the facts (e.g. the officer report said the baby had minor injuries, when actually it had none). $1,600 fine. judge didn't mention points, but I would say it's -5 for a guilty careless driving charge.

    In all honesty, we probably could have pleaded "not guilty" and won, but would have needed more time and a real expert in traffic law to examine the situation to confirm whether there was really any driving infraction.

    wtbhotia likes this.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by MyCsPiTTa:
    So, my friend pleaded guilt after revising some of the facts (e.g. the officer report said the baby had minor injuries, when actually it had none). $1,600 fine. judge didn't mention points, but I would say it's -5 for a guilty careless driving charge.

    In all honesty, we probably could have pleaded "not guilty" and won, but would have needed more time and a real expert in traffic law to examine the situation to confirm whether there was really any driving infraction.
    She hit someone. Thats an infraction!

  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    She hit someone. Thats an infraction!
    The CCTV shows the pedestrian ran into HER - BAM, right into the side of her bike - knocking the bike over. How are you supposed to brake for someone that runs into you side-on with no warning?

    In my eye, that's the pedestrians fault, UNLESS the rider was making an illegal maneuver at the time - which is exactly what would have been under debate had we pleaded not guilty. But we decided not to bother contesting. The fact is, both parties should have been a little more careful, and enough damage done and time wasted by both parties already.
    wtbhotia and Natfixit like this.

  7. #27

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    Here's what annoys me - if you are driving along and you, for whatever reason, hit and kill someone, you are automatically arrested and charged with "dangerous driving causing death", no matter whether it's because you were doing 200km/h and mounted the pavement, or if you were starting from a stationery position at a traffic light and a child had decided to play hide-and-seek under your truck....

    MyCsPiTTa, Natfixit and Titus like this.

  8. #28

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    A sad follow-up: As the offense happened while my friend was on her probationary license, she has had her license revoked I think she can revert back to the probationary, not sure now much longer it extends the period by.

    She was told by the officer taking her statement that it wouldn't matter that she was on her P plate as by the time the case was heard she would be on her full, but it unfortunately goes by the offense date, not conviction date. Totally forgot about that issue... otherwise a not-guilty plea may have been a better choice.


  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by MyCsPiTTa:
    A sad follow-up: As the offense happened while my friend was on her probationary license, she has had her license revoked I think she can revert back to the probationary, not sure now much longer it extends the period by.

    She was told by the officer taking her statement that it wouldn't matter that she was on her P plate as by the time the case was heard she would be on her full, but it unfortunately goes by the offense date, not conviction date. Totally forgot about that issue... otherwise a not-guilty plea may have been a better choice.
    Revoked?? or P license was extended.

  10. #30

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    I'm actually not 100% clear. It says her full licence is "cancelled" under regulation 12L, and if she wishes to apply for the full again, she needs to apply for reissue of her probationary under regulation 12M and complete the extended probationary driving period.

    I guess that sounds like an extension of the P license period.